The four Baha’is were arrested on 20 June 2008, in private homes, in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, by armed national security officials, and have been detained ever since. Even though of Iranian or Iraqi background, these men are well-established residents with family in the country for a very long time.
On 2 August 2008, they were transferred to the General Prosecutor’s Office. Two Yemeni nationals who had been arrested on the same evening were subsequently released.
According to reliable information, the Baha’i practitioners could be charged of proselytizing or of attempting to convert Yemeni nationals, a behavior that is criminalized and punishable by death in Yemen, in contradiction with International Human Rights Law and in particular Article 18 guaranteeing freedom of religion, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Yemen is a party.
FIDH and SAF are also deeply concerned about alleged information on the possible imminent deportation of the four detainees to Iran and Iraq. The situation of the Baha’i community in Iran is such that there is a systematic repression and a high risk of torture and inhuman treatment for these believers in the country (See article5553 ). Their deportation would thus amount to a violation of article 3 of the International Convention against Torture, to which Yemen is a party, which states that:
"No State Party shall expel, return or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture".
Therefore, we call upon the Yemeni Authorities to refrain from deporting the Iranian and Iraqi Baha’is, to immediately release them and to ensure that they can freely exercise their religion on the Yemeni territory.
FIDH and SAF further call upon the European Union to urge the authorities of Yemen not to deport the Baha’i detainees, in application of the EU guidelines against torture.